Jaipuri Onion Kachori

Part of the Virtual Vegan Potluck, this post is my effort to bring some traditional Indian snack to the virtual potluck table !! I am so excited for it and hope the readers like this recipe and try recreate it.

Every now and then i feel the need to pamper my Indian culinary senses and in my opinion, authentic street food is the quickest way to get closer to spicy, comfort treats of India. This is my second post covering the chaats/street food corner of India and this time i am walking through the food lanes of Jaipur, Rajasthan ! For my first post on chaats, see DSB Dahi Chaat – Savory yoghurt snack.

Jaipur, also known as the pink city of India is an extremely popular tourist destination in Rajasthan and India. It has some amazing fried snack dishes and i am particularly fan of the chilli pakodas (recipe to follow soon) and kachoris. Kachoris are Indian puffed pastry stuffed with vegetables like onions, potatoes, peas etc or lentils and spices.

The first time i visited Jaipur as a tourist, i walked down the busy lanes of Johari bazaar (Jewellers market) in pursuit of buying myself some silver earrings and landed up in one of the snack shops to take a food break. There i had my first onion kachori and i had instantly fallen in love with it ! The kachori had just come out of the frying kadhai/pan and was pipping hot. Not only the taste but the aroma of this snack was awesome. Infact, it was the aroma i could smell half a kilometer away which led me to the shop.

This is a recipe for kachoris stuffed with spicy onion filling. It is simply delicious !!

Mix all the ingredients for the dough except water and combine well. Now slowly add a little water at a time and knead the all purpose flour into a soft dough. Keep it aside and meanwhile prepare the onion filling. Cover the dough with a damn cloth to keep the dough soft. The ghee/oil in the dough helps in making the kachoris crunchy upon frying.

For the filling, take a saucepan. To this, add oil and put to medium high flame. Add asafoetida, cumin seeds, nigella seeds and fennel seeds and let the cumin seeds splutter. Now add in the bay leaves and chopped onions. Put the flame to high and roast the onions till golden brown.

Now add in the salt, red chilli powder, chopped green cillies and coriander powder. Combine well and lower the flame to low heat. You may taste the filling at this moment and adjust the spiciness as per choice (the filling will taste less intense upon filling to form the kachoris).

Add in the chickpea flour, garam masala and chopped coriander and combine well. The chickpea flour will act as a binding agent and absorb excess water from the onions. It is important to dry out the excess water or the filling will not hold tight and it will be tough to form the kachoris.

Remove from heat and keep aside. Let it cool down a bit. Remove the bay leaves from the filling.

Forming the kachoris

For making the kachoris, divide the dough into 12 equal parts.

Taking one part at a time, roll out the dough into about 2 inch dia circle. Repeat with all the 12 parts.

Take one circle in the palm of your hands and form a cup shape with your palm. Divide the filling into 12 portions as well and place one part in the centre of the dough circle.

Stretch a little portion of the circle and surround to seal the dough from all sides tightly. With your thumb, press the center of the kachori to stick all the corners together. Wet your hands with water and use to seal the ends. Keep it on a plate and let it rest for a couple of minutes.

Repeat with all the parts of dough and the filling.

Take a deep pan and fill it half way with oil. Let the oil get medium hot and then drop in a couple of kachoris together. Fry on medium low flame till the kachoris are golden brown. The kachoris will puff up on cooking.This will take several minutes on each side to ensure the kachoris are cooked well till inside.

This recipe is simply amazing !! I was pretty apprehensive while trying to recreate the kachori experience but once i started making them and got my first batch of kachoris from the fryer, i was thrilled to the core. The first bite took me to the food lanes and all the hustle-bustle of the magnificent Jaipur city and i was immersed in the nostalgia of my visits there.

Try this kachori recipe. If you are not too keen on using so much of onion, you can also substitute half the quantity of onions with one mashed potato and proceed with the recipe or can make a peas kachoris by substituting the entire quantity of onion with peas (remember to mash the peas nicely upon cooking to make the filling paste like consistency)

Give this recipe a try and get authentic taste of Jaipuri onion kachoris on your dinning tables today !! I hope you are enjoying the recipes on the Virtual Vegan Potluck November table

Thanks a lot for your prompt response! I understand the whole time lapse 😛 it is 3:30 am rite now here and I am up by chance!
I am sure this potluck will be great fun. Thanks again! I am so excited to try so many new recipes I am seeing on the virtual table.. It’s awesome!

Thank you so much for that lovely comment.. i tried them for the first time myself and i am completely in awe of them. Infact i even baked one batch as a trial and you can definitely try that route as they are equally delicious !! I posted the fried version as that is the traditional way of making a kachori and i wanted to bring a true, traditional and conventional Indian recipe on potluck table !!

Btw, i read your recipe too and it looks so yum ! I am sure this is going to be a regular recipe at my place !! Thanks for sharing 🙂

Thanks a lot !! I am glad to have joined this potluck !! I am getting to see such amazing coking ideas.. its almost like i am getting to taste all of them 🙂
Your soup recipe is so delicious and hearty.. truly an amazing recipe to keep us warm through the cold winters !! 🙂

Oh thanks a lot !! Please let me know how they turn out for you !!
Btw, i have made red velvet brownies using beets before but not tried the white chocolate fudge frosting .. sounds yum ! Its on my list too … i thank the potluck for getting me in touch with you 🙂

Thanks for your lovely compliment !! It surely made my day 🙂 About the silver dazzlers… oh yes !! I got loads of them … just that i extended my trip by 2 days so that i could try more awesome street food around 😛 By the end of the trip, buying silver earrings was just an excuse to go those markets .. hehe

Btw, i am looking at your blog at the moment and i must say i am so pleased to see u making a career in baking !! I am so inspired … i have been thinking about it for a while and i would need tips from u !

Hi. First of all thank you for showing interest in my recipe, i am glad you liked it !! Well i have not personally tried making kachoris by baking but since it the similar to baking stuffed naans/breads, i would say it would work well. Maybe you can add just a little extra oil while kneading so that the kachoris turn out crispier. Also, one of the important factors while frying kachoris is the temperature (it should be fried on medium low for long), so i would suggest you keep your oven setting at about 250-300F only.
All the best with trying this recipe out. Do let me know how it turns out ! Thanks 🙂

I am so delighted to see that you liked my recipe and considered it for the “favorites”. I am yet to go through all the recipes though i must say your recipe looks really tempting and the picture is just so inviting 🙂

Thanks !!
Well this recipe is certainly kid friendly. The best part is that if you season it well (can be without chillies for sure :)), there is no need of any dipping sauce or such and it is easy to pick and eat – non messy and pretty filling !
The recipe that i have has a good amount of spices in it and it tends to be hot.
For a kid friendlier version, i suggest you add in a mashed potato to the onions and make it a potato-onion kachori !! Let me know how it turns out for you 🙂
Thanks !